SAT prep and applying to college

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by guest author Jennifer Karan, Executive Director of the SAT Program at the College Board

In a move that has been much discussed among its current student body, Ithaca College recently announced that students applying for 2013 admission will have the option of withholding their SAT scores from consideration during the admissions process. The statement by Ithaca College maintains that, as a result of dropping the SAT as a requirement, it is “anticipated that the applicant pool will become more diverse, as underrepresented students tend to take greater advantage of test optional policies.”

More than ever the population of students taking the SAT reflects the diverse makeup of America’s classrooms. In fact, SAT takers from the class of 2012 were the most diverse SAT class ever: 45% self-identified as being minority students; 28% reported that English was not exclusively their first language; and, most tellingly, 36% reported that they would be the first generation of college goers in their family.

The SAT was created to democratize access to college for all students. SAT scores provide a national, standardized and fair benchmark that neutralizes the risk of grade inflation – a particularly important point when more than 40 percent of SAT takers report an “A” GPA.

Furthermore, the SAT is the most rigorously researched college entrance exam and is consistently shown to be a fair and valid predictor of college success for all students, regardless of gender, race or socioeconomic status. Each potential SAT question is reviewed by external subject matter experts, subjected to an independent and external sensitivity review process, and pretested on a diverse sample of students from around the world. Any question that performs substantially different for any gender or ethnic group is eliminated.

Ithaca College and all schools should be recognized for constantly examining their admissions processes, making adjustments to expand opportunities to new applicants and diversifying their student bodies. As a true believer in the mission of the College Board – helping to connect all students with college opportunity and success – I hope that colleges and universities choosing a test optional admissions policy continue to take the same thoughtful approach as they review the results.

As a former high school teacher and dean of students, I believe in giving students every opportunity to showcase their strengths. In this case, Ithaca may well be short-changing both the university and potential applicants by eliminating a valid and reliable measure such as the SAT from the admission process.

I had not heard of the author until she followed my Twitter account. I also took a peek at her LinkedIn account; her experience is in marketing and speechwriting (she has also written novels and screenplays). What, no college counseling? I offered to read and review this book with the understanding that my report would be an honest one, and Ms. Miller agreed.

As I began to read, I was impressed. Before I reached the midpoint, I was converted. How to Succeed is a must read for students who are committed to playing the college entrance game to win.

The book is available in Kindle format (text-to-speech is enabled) for $9.99, and was 247 pages long on my iPad. It is not meant to be a comprehensive overview of the entire college application process. However, it is chock full of useful advice.

Organization

Here is the Table of Contents:

CHAPTER I: TAKING YOUR OWN PATHOPTIONS AND CONTROL
PASSION – THE NUMBER ONE THEME OF THIS BOOK
NOTE FOR PARENTS, ADVISORS AND MENTORS – “MIDWIFE” PASSION
STARTING AT THE BEGINNING – YOUR RESUME
FORMATTING A RESUME
WHAT GOES ON A RESUME

CHAPTER II: PREPARING FOR INTERVIEWS OR MEETINGSGENERAL PREPARATIONS FOR YOUR LIFE PATH
BEFORE A MEETING/INTERVIEW
DURING A MEETING/INTERVIEW
AFTER A MEETING/INTERVIEW

CHAPTER III: PLANNING AHEAD FOR HIGH SCHOOLCHOOSING YOUR HIGH SCHOOL COURSES BEFORE SCHOOL BEGINS
ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES IN HIGH SCHOOL
THE FUN PART OF HIGH SCHOOL – EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
INTRODUCTION TO INTERNSHIPS
A FINAL WORD ABOUT WORDS
EXERCISES

CHAPTER IV: APPLYING TO COLLEGETHOSE ALL IMPORTANT ESSAYS
EARLY ADMISSION OPTIONS
OTHER COLLEGE APPLICATION FACTORS
HE SAID, SHE SAID – THE IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATIONS
EXTRA HOMEWORK
CONNECTING TO OTHER PEOPLE FOR HELP
SUMMER PROGRAMS VS. SUMMER PROGRAMS – SOME YOU PAY FOR
ADDITIONAL ASSISTS IN COLLEGE APPLICATIONS
STANDARDIZED TESTS
GET ALL THE INFORMATION YOU CAN ON EACH COLLEGE
FINANCIAL AID
EXERCISES

CHAPTER V: AFTER THE COLLEGE/PROGRAM APPLICATIONS ARE INEXERCISES
BONUS: Tips for How to Use Dynamic Language on a College Application Essay

Pros

How To Succeed offers a unique and effective way to do what the title promises: maximize your potential and win the “college hunt.” It begins by advising you to begin planning as early as the summer after eighth grade. The guide is directed at the student, but useful advice for parents is sprinkled throughout.

Most teenagers put off thinking about their responsibilities as long as possible. A central theme of this guide is prepare early. Start working on your resume before you need one. Practice interviewing, use social media effectively, learn about colleges, etc. If you follow this book to the letter, you may even feel sorry for most other students when you realize how unprepared they are.

As mentioned above, the author does not have a professional background in college counseling. However, she has clearly had a lot of experience in the area, and has done exhaustive research. As a result, the guide includes helpful tips that aren’t found in many other books. For example, a student may not realize that, by completing 9th grade math in junior high, he may be required to take calculus if he plans to apply to colleges that require four years of math in high school.

Cons

My only real objection is not truly a criticism of this book. In order to best use the given advice, a teenager needs to be very ambitious and dedicated even before she begins high school. Unfortunately, not many students fit this bill. However, it is my feeling that many students who use this guide will experience a “rush of empowerment” as they begin to follow its recommendations, even if they were initially reluctant.

I found about ten minor grammar/style errors, which should be corrected by a proofreader.

Overview

As I mentioned, only highly motivated students will get the most out of this book. It will still be of use to others, including those who read it midway through high school. But those who do begin following the author’s regimen after eighth grade, and follow it through rigorously, will have a tremendous advantage at the college hunt. I have no doubt that this advantage will carry over beyond college. In any case, the author plans to write two follow-up books to help during and after college.

This guide is largely about developing a certain attitude. The author does not expect students to stop having fun; rather, she suggests that students learn to integrate fun activities into a driven, goal-oriented lifestyle.

To that end, the author’s background as a writer and marketer have served her well. As I read this book, I frequently felt energized as I thought “students who read this can morph into ‘movers and shakers.'”

In the wake of a recent cheating scandal on Long Island, NY, new security measures were announced for the SAT and ACT exams. The principal change is that students will now be required to upload a photo of themselves when registering for these exams. The photos will appear on the students admission tickets, and also on test site rosters that will be available to proctors. Also, the photos will be attached to any score reports that are sent to high schools and colleges.

It seems to me that these measures, while not foolproof, do add an additional layer of anti-cheating protection. Consider the recent cheating scandal on Long Island. Students paid a college student to take the exams for them. The college student, Sam Eshagoff, had only to furnish cheap false IDs, and was granted entry into the testing center. Since the name on each ID matched that of the student who would receive the scores, Eshagoff was able to get away with his scam for quite some time.

If another student were to attempt a similar scam, he would now have to upload a photo of himself, or at least one that looked similar enough to fool a proctor. Of course, that wouldn’t mean he’d be any easier to detect than Eshagoff was. However, there would now be a long-lasting record of his chicanery. If at any time, a high school guidance counselor, or a college admissions officer were to notice that the photo was not that of the student, the deception would be exposed.

I think that this measure will act as a deterrent to most people who might consider cheating in this fashion. However, some students may take the risk, hoping that no one pays close attention to the photos. I suppose it’s also remotely possible that a look-alike could stand in for a student, or perhaps even an expert in disguise might give it a try.

My major criticism of the new measures is that they only deter one method of cheating. Students can still share information in various ways. They could easily develop methods of signaling to each other. In this technological age, it’s also hard to imagine that some students haven’t tried using hand-held devices to communicate with sources outside the testing center.

I have heard other objections to the new measures. There will be no more standby registrations. As Akil Bello of Bell Curves pointed out, poorer students who lack easy access to connected computers will be most affected.

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The SAT is a standardized college admission test developed by The College Board. Many college require that applying students take the SAT, or its competitor, the ACT (you can learn about the differences between the tests here).

The SAT is presently known as the SAT Reasoning Test, to distinguish it from the SAT Subject Tests, which are also written by The College Board. The Subject Tests, as their name implies, test specific subjects. This article is about the SAT Reasoning Test.

The SAT is administered seven times a year at schools throughout the U.S. The fee for the SAT is $49 (needy students can apply for fee waivers).

The SAT has three types of sections: Reading, Math, and Writing (which includes an essay). Three sections of each type count towards your score. In addition, there is an Experimental (“Variable”) Section, which doesn’t count, but is used by The College Board to test questions for future SATs. The ten sections take a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Students with special needs may apply for test accommodations, such as extra time or a live reader. Students who take the exam with extra time do not take the Experimental Section.

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Here is some quick, common sense advice on what to do in the days leading up to your SAT, and on Test Day itself:

Obvious, but vital: You want to be stay healthy. Eat balanced meals and get a good night’s sleep.

You can continue to study for the exam, but don’t feel that you have to “go into overdrive.” Of course, if you haven’t started studying for the SAT, it’s too late to begin now. However, as James Bond and Mike McClenathan say, “never say die.”

If you do plan to study, it’s best to spend your time as efficiently as you can. If you’ve been struggling with a particular type of question, you might focus on reviewing that. On the other hand, don’t expect to gain much by studying vocabulary at this late date.

I advise most of my students not to study on the day before the SAT. Just relax and have a normal day, as long as “normal” isn’t too crazy for you.

Make sure your calculator is charged. You should use a calculator that you’re familiar with. Also bring a watch – preferably with a stopwatch or timer feature. Note that you are not allowed a watch that will make noise, or one that sits on your desk. And don’t forget your #2 pencils, your ticket, photo ID, and some snacks.

Naturally, you want to wake up early enough that you don’t have to rush. If you normally eat a big breakfast, do the same. It’s natural to be nervous before a big test, and you’ll only increase your anxiety if you break from your everyday routine.

You want to get to the test center a little early. If you care to socialize with other students, that’s fine, but I would recommend against talking about the content of the SAT. Wise guy remarks such as “you can’t ace the Math Section if you don’t know how to do derivatives” can induce nervousness.

Most students benefit from “revving up their brains” a little before the test. You might solve a few Sentence Completions or easy Math problems before you’re seated (you can store practice materials in a backpack, which might be left in a corner of the testing room).

You have the right to a good test-taking environment.

If you have a wobbly desk or chair, a flickering light overhead, or a student who won’t stop sneezing two desks away, be the squeaky wheel and ask the proctor to change your seat. Normally, you probably don’t want to be a troublemaker, and you know the proctor may find your request to be a nuisance. Be polite, but firm, and explain why you simply can’t take the SAT under adverse conditions.

Above all, remember what got you here. I’ve had too many students who have aced their last few practice tests, only to see their scores drop on the actual exam. Don’t focus too hard on getting a good score. Instead, focus on using the techniques that you’ve learned properly. Then good scores will follow.

Don’t try to “cruise” the exam. If anything, try to think a little harder than you did on practice SATs.

For the sake of simplicity, let’s say that there are two factors that affect one’s pacing on the SAT, which we’ll call “brain speed” and “habit speed.”

Brain speed is somewhat analogous to processor speed in a computer. It cannot be easily changed; some people’s brains move from thought to thought faster than others’. I don’t know if there’s any correlation between brain speed and intelligence. Over many years teaching students, I have observed some very smart people with slow brain speed (even a couple of geniuses), and some who aren’t as smart, but who process quickly.

If you’re a brainiac who processes slowly, there’s no reason you can’t be successful in a variety of fields. However, standardized tests such as the SAT can be something of a stumbling block. Arguably, students are given less time to solve questions on the SAT than they will be on college exams. In an earlier article, I proposed that the SAT would be fairer if it were administered over two days.

However, only a small minority of students have a brain speed so slow that it prevents them from answering most of the questions on the SAT. That is, most students who leave more than a handful of blanks do so largely out of “habit speed,” and will be able to speed up.

Before I get into specific methods of speeding up, I want to mention one relevant issue that only affects part of the test: reading speed. If you’re a slow reader, you will have trouble with sections that include passages. Of course, it is possible to improve reading speed. You might take a speed reading course (live or online). But if you have a learning disability that affects reading speed (and don’t qualify for special accommodations), or if English in not your primary language, you may still have a problem. Note that there are ways to approach the Reading questions without reading the entire passage. Unfortunately, they are beyond the scope of this article.

The advice I want to offer here is straightforward, but the process of improving your pace can be frustrating. The SAT is already quite challenging, and devoting some of your focus and energy to pacing may throw you off. Your scores may even drop temporarily, but you shouldn’t let that bother you.

Remember that, whatever your overall pace, you should begin slowly on each question. Review what I said about pacing like a golf swing in this article.

Using New Techniques to Speed Up

Whether you are studying from books, websites, or live teachers, you will learn new techniques to solve SAT questions, such as plugging in and anticipation. These techniques are designed to help you answer more questions correctly; they almost always help you solve faster as well. My students often question this. “They ask, if I take all that time anticipating, won’t I have trouble finishing the sections?” At first, you may slow down as you struggle with new methods. But eventually, that extra bit of time you spend at the beginning of a question will you help you to solve more efficiently – i.e. faster.

When you first learn new methods, it is more important to concentrate on using them properly than on scoring high and/or finishing quickly. Have patience, and your results will improve over time.

Improving “Habit Speed”

I’ve had many students who believed they were slow thinkers, but actually weren’t. How can you tell? After many years of teaching, I can usually estimate a student’s potential “thinking speed” after a lesson or two; perhaps you know a teacher who can do the same. Also, based on completely unscientific observation, I’ve noticed a strong (and perhaps surprising) correlation between hand speed and brain speed. It’s not foolproof, but if you have quick hands, you may be a potentially fast thinker.

I use the term “habit speed” since I’ve found that many students solve slowly because they have become comfortable doing so. After all, time-pressure is not such a great factor on most tests, so there’s no incentive to practice performing at top speed.

Since speeding up will entail leaving your “comfort zone,” it is only natural that your accuracy will suffer somewhat, until you become comfortable and familiar with your new pace.

I did not invent the technique I am about to describe. In fact, it’s simple enough that I’m sure many people have thought of it on their own. To give due credit, I actually got the idea from a Karate expert named Dan Anderson. His instructor had told him never to perform a martial arts technique faster than he could with perfect form. However, when Anderson became a teacher, he found that such a rigid approach retarded his students’ development. Instead, he encouraged them to perform their techniques a little faster than they could perfectly. They became fast fighters quickly, and won a lot of tournaments.

You can apply this idea to solving SAT questions. Don’t go crazy and try to increase your speed by 50 per cent in one sitting. Aim for an increase of 10 – 15 per cent. If your score stays the same, that’s good. If it drops, you can try it again on another test. Once you are doing well, you can then try increasing your speed again. At some point, you may decide that you’ve gone too far, and need to back off a bit.

This method is not Nobel Prize-winning material, but it should be simple to implement. Just remember these two precepts: a little at a time, and be patient with your scores.

As you can imagine, this technique is a lot more helpful to some students than others. If you find that your speed doesn’t improve by that much, remember that you can still get a very nice score even if you leave out 5 questions on each section. And if you do speed up a lot, be careful not to overdo it. It’s not worth making careless errors by trying to save time for the longer, harder questions that are found at the end of most SAT sections.